Any suggestions of the names of small Texas towns where I can buy a few acres? Prefer some green pasture land over desert, and I can pay cash. (Really.)
Yes, I was born in Los Angeles. But, well, you know . . .
If you can move to Texas without bringing California with you then you will be an asset. If you bring Cali along to Texas you will be the curse that has afflicted Colorado.
Lots of good green areas in Central Texas at reasonable prices. Look in Bosque County around Valley Mills, or in nearby Crawford in McLennan County. Tons of land available in Limestone or Freestone Counties.
There are literally thousands...If you just want it for recreational purposes, East Texas is beautiful. The Piney Woods starting in Tyler and east to the Louisiana border are full of small towns where acreage lots are plentiful.
I recently discovered you can find real estate for sale in the google map search feature. Find an area you like in the maps, and add “real estate” in the search window. You can narrow it down by type of real estate. You’ll see...there’s a lot of property out there.
And, no offense to the Hill country lovers, but I wouldn’t call it ‘green pasture land.’ It seems closer to desert. I’ve never thought the Hill country was an especially lush landscape—it seems more brown and scruffy to me.
And, no one is mentioning the areas around North Texas (Dallas/Ft.Worth), where you will find beautiful acreage properties sometimes even within city limits.
Nicest small town in Texas is Fredericksburg. But it is not undiscovered.
Also take a look at the area between Hamilton and Stephenville.
And remember, the summers in Texas are long and brutal - seriously.
I’ll sell you my place.
10 acres, 5 bedroom house, with a large shop, with a large over hang for a travel trailer.
4 miles South of Abilene, near historic Buffalo Gap Texas.
Good country living. Lots of wildlife.
Baja, I've lived in Stockton, Rescue (last Pony Express stop before Sacto), and a whole bunch of Texas towns. California has more dry, parched areas than Texas. All those Hollywood movies about Texas were shot in California.
We do have one California like city. It's the People's Republic of Austin. It's better to avoid it.
In most of the state, you can by a 3500 square foot home with a pool in an affluent community for less than $300K. The property taxes are higher, but the top marginal income tax rate is 0%. Gas is less because gas taxes are less. Electricity's about the same because we've got a bunch of stupid, senseless windmills in West Texas that work to line Boone Pickens' pockets, but do nothing for peak power generation (i.e., we need peak electricity when it's hot and air conditioners are running and the wind isn't blowing).
As a business owner and serial entrepreneur, I can say without doubt that the state is more business friendly than California. However, that's like saying Death Valley in August is a cooler environment than Hell. To be honest, we're over taxed here. And while we only have to worry about the legislature when they're in session, the unfortunate truth is they do meet from time to time.
Lessee, what else? You've got better artichokes, sourdough, and Calimari. You've got better wine (though we're making strides) and you've got better beer (specifically, Stone Breweries in San Diego and Sierra Nevada in Chico). You've got better snow skiing and surfing. We've got better Mexican food (really), beef, and chili. Our beaches (excepting Galveston) are better. Our customer service is better. We're friendlier. We can buy your best beer and wine for less than you pay, plus we get smoking prices on Chilean wine, French wine, and Belgian Trappist beer.
You pretend to have been a republic (e.g., your state flag). We actually were an independent republic and reserve the right to become one again.
I believe we've now got more Fortune 500 companies. We've got the Dallas Cowboys (unfortunately that includes their owner, though he's really an Arkansas carpetbagger).
I could go on. Texas isn't perfect and it's less perfect than it was. However, it's far better than the once golden state.
East Texas is a better choice. More rain, but still semi-rural - everything east of Dallas suburbs to the Arkansas and Louisiana borders is still a good option.
The Texas hill country is quite beautiful and is a popular retirement destination now. Still not too crowded, though. Texas is rather large, ya know!
If you are more into cities, then San Antonio is a really nice city. It has a large Hispanic population, so brush up on your Spanish.
If Texas would do away with government education, then it would also solve its high property tax problem. Just saying...